Deliveryman Sues UES Chinese Restaurant For Wage Theft

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A deliveryman who worked nearly 50-hour weeks without a lunch break for five years at an Upper East Side Chinese restaurant is suing the eatery for stiffing him on his pay, according to a class action lawsuit filed in federal court this month.

Chang Yen Chen said bosses at Lexington Avenue's Lilli and Loo failed to pay him the minimum wage and failed to pay for his overtime hours when he worked at the restaurant as a deliveryman between July 2014 and June 2019, according to the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit accuses business owners of " willfully and intentionally" violating federal and state labor laws.

Chen claims that when he started his job in 2014 he was promised a $7.50 hourly wage and $11.25 per hour for overtime. The promised wage jumped to $10.85 in 2018, according to the lawsuit. In reality, the deliveryman's average hourly pay during his tenure at the restaurant was $6.47, the lawsuit claims.

The company that owns Lilli and Loo, 792 Restaurant Food Corp, was previously sued for similar claims in 2014 and 2018, according to court records. Both lawsuits were eventually settled, according to records. The company also operated a restaurant called Lili's 57 Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar in Midtown Manhattan, which shared staff with the Upper East Side eatery, but it appears to be out of business.

The lawsuit estimates that there are at least 40 other workers that could have received the same treatment as Chen, who is listed as a representative of the class. The class is made up of employees who worked at 792 Restaurant Food Corp's eateries for at least three years and " were not compensated at their promised hourly rate for all hours worked and at one and one half times their promised work for all hours worked in excess of forty hours per week," according to the lawsuit.

Workers claim they are entitled to any unpaid minimum wage and overtime wages, out-of-pocket expenses incurred during deliveries, interest, attorney's fees and other damages.